“FIRE’s advocacy,” the group wrote, “has helped stem the tide of federal overreach and laid the groundwork for policies that protect the rights of students and professors to express themselves openly and without fear.”

As a finalist, FIRE’s Legislative and Policy Project receives a $25,000 finalist’s award and remains in contention for this year’s Templeton Freedom Award and its $100,000 grand prize.

Atlas, which has bestowed the honor annually since 2004, describes the criteria for selecting the winner as follows:

Named for the late investor and philanthropist Sir John Templeton, the Templeton Freedom Award is a $100,000 prize that annually honors his legacy by identifying and recognizing the most exceptional and innovative contributions to the understanding of free enterprise and the public policies that encourage prosperity, innovation and human fulfillment via free competition.